LETTERS

Wednesday, March 13, 2013: Contempt, support and family ties

Contempt of Congress

I have heard that there is a crime called “ contempt of Congress.” If this is true, I plead guilty since I have nothing but contempt for it.

Congress has managed to cut from preschoolers, schoolchildren, working families, the mentally challenged, senior citizens and almost everybody else in this country except itself. It is about time we had a conversation about cutting congressional pay and benefits.

It is time to clean house. Please join me in every upcoming election by not voting for any incumbents until they figure out they are not doing their job.

Bradford I. Ingerson

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Millinocket

LR 1627 support

As a family doctor to whom my patients look for guidance and advice in matters of health, I am dismayed at the proliferation of unsafe chemicals found in everyday products without any warnings whatsoever.

Shampoo that contains parabens, a shower curtain with phthalates and cans of soup with bisphenol-A in the lining of the can are just a few examples of products found recently on store shelves with none of this information on any label. How can anyone know which products are safe?

Maine has named 49 chemicals of high concern that are commonly found in our everyday products, but no action has been proposed to protect us from these chemicals.

How do we help people avoid learning too late those products they have been buying for years may contain toxic chemicals that can cause the development of cancer, learning disabilities or hormone disruption in our children?

We need more than a list of harmful chemicals. We need safer products.

A bill now before the legislature sponsored by Sen. Seth Goodall, D-Richmond, will make sure we take action to protect our future health. LR 1627 will identify products containing the worst toxic chemicals, prioritize new chemicals for action and close a loophole that currently blocks the state from regulating BPA in food packaging.

I am asking my Rep. Adam Goode, D-Bangor, and Sen. Geoffrey Gratwick, D-Bangor, to support these important health protections and vote yes on LR 1627. All of us deserve to know that the products we purchase are safe.

A student perspective

I’m a sophomore at the high school and find that the academy was not properly represented in the article.

In the BDN article, Hampden Councilor Bill Shakespeare said he heard students have worn coats in class because of low temperatures. Personally, I find the internal climate comfortable. I like having a reliable temperature I can depend on every day.

I find that the Performing Arts Center is a great addition to the school, and I love having play rehearsals on a beautiful stage. Additionally, the recycling methods at our new school have greatly reduced waste, from six barrels of trash per lunch to half a barrel a day.

In regards to Shakespeare’s second comment concerned falling tiles — to the best of my knowledge, no tiles actually hit the ground.

Readers may have images of students hiding under desks as the ceiling crashed to the floor, but I’m happy to say that no one was ever harmed. The tiles simply cracked and were removed immediately upon inspection.

As Assistant Superintendent for Business Emil Genest pointed out, the problems are between the subcontractors and general contractor, not with the school and will be resolved between them.

In the meantime, students and community members need to recognize that they have been given a great gift in both benefit and expense and should be proud of what we now have to call our own.

KerryQuigley

Newburgh

Payment plan

Many of us have found ourselves with a bill from a hospital for an unanticipated event. Most of us without insurance also know that one can meet with hospital representatives and make a payment plan.

Could the state set up a payment plan that does not require that no other bond be implemented until the entire thing is paid? That’s what the citizens of the state do. That’s what the Maine state government could do.

KarenTolstrup

Old Town

Gun shops

I remember something from my childhood that seems to have been forgotten in recent days. I literally grew up in the midsts of a gun shop. My grandfather owned one, and still does, which he operates out of the basement of his home.

Every Friday, my cousins and I would go to his house for the day and stay until dinner.

We were always in and out of the shop and, needless to say, around the firearms. We were taught to respect them as something that could both do great evil or great good, a tool that could just as easily feed a hungry family as it can harm another person.

And, if used with care, guns aren’t any more likely to harm you than any other household tool is. The thing I remember most is I was taught that guns do not kill people, people kill people.

NathanBarrett

Orrington

Which corn is which

I have some food intolerances, so I usually eat reasonably carefully. One of my worst problems is with corn that is not organic. I get unpleasant intestinal symptoms.

This never happened before genetically engineered corn came on the market, and I believe that I have an intolerance to this corn. It would be nice not to have to limit myself to organic corn and special sellers.

If genetically modified corn were labeled, I could just go to the grocery store and buy regular corn and not worry about my intestinal fortitude.

That is why I am hoping that our legislators will support the labeling of genetically modified corn in LD 718, which is coming up this session in Augusta.

Many food producers are beginning to label foods that contain peanuts or wheat. They don’t seem to find it too difficult or expensive. I don’t know why it would be any more difficult or expensive to label genetically modified foods.

Some people may be fine with genetically modified foods, but genetically modified corn seems to be a problem for me. I have a right to know which corn is which.

JaneMcCloskey

Deer Isle

Not another Bush

Enough is enough. I’m as thrilled about the idea of finding the name of any Baldacci on any ballot, as I would be to see another Bush.